Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Plants: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether any plant in Great Britain may be brought legally into Northern Irelandunder the Windsor Framework, including those with soil from Great Britain remaining on the roots.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have removed the requirement for a phytosanitary certificate on the movement of plants and seeds, meaning there will be no bar to plants with soil attached being able to move between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Plants will move under the framework of the £120 a year UK-wide plant passport regime.

Plants: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether any plants or trees will be banned from being brought into Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government which genera of plants that are banned from being brought into Northern Ireland will remain banned after the implementation of the Windsor Framework; and which will no longer be banned.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have paved the way to allow 11 banned plant species to move again by the time of the next planting season. Those were priority cases identified by industry itself, and we will progress further cases wherever there is industry appetite. These have not been able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland since the Protocol came into force. Two species - Ligustrum japonicum and L. delavayanum - are already able to move following the Windsor Framework.

Plants: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether a private individual in Northern Ireland can legally be sent plants or trees from Great Britain, under the Windsor Framework, without the need for professional registration.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Plants and seeds will be able to once again move easily within the UK. Plants will now move within the same plant passport regime as applies throughout the UK. As we put these arrangements into practice we will work closely with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure gardeners, farmers and growers can access plants and seeds from a wide variety of sources.

Kazakhstan: Politics and Government

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Kazakhstan regarding knowledge sharing and capacity building on (1) sanctions compliance, (2) anti-money laundering measures, (3) regulation of cryptocurrencies, and (4) ‘Know Your Customer’ compliance.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has recently had several high-level engagements with the Government of Kazakhstan, including hosting the UK-Kazakhstan Strategic Dialogue in December, the UK-Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Investment in February and the Foreign Secretary's visit to Astana on 18 March, meeting President Tokayev and other senior Kazakhs. In our engagements, we continually emphasise the importance of developing and maintaining a quality business environment to support international investment into Kazakhstan. Although senior meetings have not covered the cryptocurrency regulations, the UK successfully ran a pilot project in 2022 on financial compliance to assess different types of training on tackling illicit finance.

International Science and Technology Center and Science and Technology Center in Ukraine

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to join (1) the International Science and Technology Center, and (2) the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: His Majesty's Government (HMG) already engages with the International Science and Technology Center and the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine; we have no current plans to join them. HMG aims to ensure that science and technology underpins Ukraine's recovery and is exploring ways to deepen our connections and engagement with a range of institutions in Ukraine. To date, the focus has been on supporting researchers at risk, a twinning programme for UK and Ukrainian universities and supporting the tech sector, which will be a focus for the forthcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Commonwealth: Foreign Relations

Baroness Adams of Craigielea: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish (1) details, and (2) minutes, of the meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers in March.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) was organised and hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat on 15 March 2023. The Foreign Secretary made clear the UK's desire to work with partner nations to deliver tangible benefits for Commonwealth countries and citizens, in particular on trade and investment, climate and values. The Commonwealth Secretariat published details of the meeting on their website: https://thecommonwealth.org/news/commonwealth-foreign-affairs-ministers-meet-discuss-responses-global-crises.

British Overseas Territories

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 28 March (HL6679), whether theywill (1) break down Governors' reserved powers in each of the Overseas Territories, and (2) identify which government department is responsible for supporting the Governors in exercising each of these powers.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Inhabited Territories have varying powers and responsibilities devolved to them which are set out in their constitutions. In most Overseas Territories the Governor retains responsibility for external affairs, defence, and internal security. Governors work closely with the elected leaders of the Territories to discharge reserved powers. Each UK government Department has responsibility for supporting the Territories within their areas of competence, including supporting the Governors in exercising reserve powers.

Falkland Islands: Fossil Fuels

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with the government of the Falkland Islands to assess (1) the biodiversity, and (2) other environmental, risks of any fossil fuel development there.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK Government regularly discusses development of a Falkland Islands hydrocarbons industry with the Falkland Islands Government and is working with the Falkland Islanders to ensure they can access UK expertise. Policy on hydrocarbons development in the Falkland Islands is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government. With UK Government support, the Falkland Islands Government is ensuring they are able to identify, assess and manage risks, including environmental risks.

Falkland Islands: Fossil Fuels

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government, given their policy of not using UK export credits to fund fossil fuel projects, what (1) diplomatic, or (2) other activities, they are planning to ensure other countries do not offer this type of funding for the Falkland Islands.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: As the Falkland Islands Government is a self-governing Overseas Territory, hydrocarbons development in the Falkland Islands is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government, in accordance with all relevant laws. There is no change to His Majesty's Government's policy of not using UK export credits to fund fossil fuel projects and the financing of a future production phase is a commercial decision for the Falkland Islands Government and the companies involved. We continue to engage internationally in pursuit of global environmental targets.

Water: Sustainable Development

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take, together with international partners, to ensure global water security and to advance the global sustainable development agenda after the UN 2023 Water Conference on 22–24 March; and whether this will include commitments to the Water Action Agenda, particularly in view of the conclusions of the UN World Water Development Report 2023.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK played a leading role at the UN Water conference. Delivering the UK's key intervention, Lord Goldsmith called on all for greater accountability, political leadership, and finance for water. Lord Goldsmith also announced our Water Action Agenda contributions including: £18.5 million in new support to strengthen Water, Sanitation and Hygiene systems in up to five countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and seed funding for a £38 million water programme. The UK supports the findings of UN World Water Development Report 2023, and agrees partnership and cooperation are key to achieving equitable access to water and sanitation for all.

South Sudan: Refugees

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current state of food distribution among South Sudanese refugees in Arua district, northern Uganda; and what steps they have taken in response to the latest World Food Programme appeal for that area.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Fifty-seven percent of Uganda's 1.5 million refugees are from South Sudan, accommodated mostly in settlements in the West Nile region, bordering Arua District. The UK is committed to providing life-saving assistance and protection to all refugees in Uganda, including nutrition and cash support for food security and to build self-reliance. In financial year 2022/23, the UK Government provided £9.1 million for refugee support in Uganda. We are working with the World Food Programme and other partners to ensure limited resources are prioritised for the most vulnerable.

South Sudan: Refugees

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the UNHCR 2023 Regional Refugee Response Plan to assist South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries; and what estimate has been made of how many of the refugees are returning to South Sudan through agencies such as the International Organisation for Migration.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK is committed to supporting South Sudanese refugees in the region. In financial year 2022/23, the UK Government allocated at least £156 million in humanitarian support to East Africa. Our support is providing essential services and supplies, including food, clean water, nutritional support and healthcare, to millions of people, including South Sudanese refugees. The UNHCR reports that over 500,000 refugees have returned to South Sudan since the signing of the Revitalized Peace Agreement in 2018. A stable, sustained peace in South Sudan will be essential to allow refugees to return home safely - the UK funds peacebuilding programmes and continuously calls on the Government of South Sudan to implement the peace agreement in full, stop the violence and protect its citizens.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government why British Citizens who are subject to taxation by HM Revenue & Customs and are living in a British Overseas Territoryare not eligible for an uplift in their state pension.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: There is no connection between State Pension uprating and taxation. An individual’s UK State Pension is based on the number of qualifying years on their National Insurance record. The Government has a clear position, which has remained a consistent policy of successive Governments for around 70 years. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and are uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so; for example in the European Economic Area, or countries where we have a reciprocal social security agreement that allows for State Pension uprating which include the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Bermuda. We have no plans to change this policy.

Employment: Disability

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan topublish their employment action plan for disabled people.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government will consult on the Disability Action Plan over the summer and will publish it at the end of 2023.

Department for Education

Overseas Students

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government which countries international students studying in the UK have come from in each of the last three years.

Baroness Barran: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on higher education (HE) at UK HE providers. Latest statistics refer to the 2021/22 academic year, and can be found at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-11.Table 11 of the HESA’s Student Data includes the number of Non-UK HE enrolments broken down by country of domicile between academic years 2014/15 to 2021/22. Domicile refers to the permanent home address of the student prior to entry of the course.

Further Education: Care Leavers and Children in Care

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) looked-after children, and (2) care leavers, went on to Key Stage 5 in (a) the latest year for which figures are available, and (b) the three preceding years.

Baroness Barran: The department does not hold information on the numbers of all care leavers who went on to key stage 5. The department does hold and publish information on the activities of care leavers aged 17 to 21 who had been looked after by local authorities in England. This includes information on care leavers in education, but not specifically at key stage 5. The latest statistics are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/1db542fc-b38b-4dd6-c132-08daa787e284.The department also publishes information on pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2018/19 and reports on their destinations in the 2019/20 academic year. The figures show in 2019/20, 5,010 looked after children were in a sustained education destination in the year following the end of key stage 4. Of these, 2,910 were in further education, 860 were in a school sixth form or sixth form college and 1,240 were in some other form of education. They may not necessarily be studying key stage 5 learning aims. This data can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/271af2fd-b022-402a-076f-08db29e96c41.The latest information on attainment for looked after children is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/outcomes-for-children-in-need-including-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities-in-england.Information on pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2019/20 and their destinations in the 2020/21 academic year was published on 30 March 2023 on the GOV.UK website.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 7 March 2023 (HL5695), to which body the recommendations on the relevant cohorts for COVID-19 therapeutics are to be made, as discussed by the Chair of the Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel on 2 February; and whether the preparation of these recommendations included reviewing details within the report Qcovid 4 - Predicting risk of death or hospitalisation from COVID-19, published in August 2022.

Lord Markham: The Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel met on 31 January 2023 to review most recent evidence on COVID-19 risk, including the National Institute for Health and Care Research rapid study on those who remain vulnerable to poor outcomes from COVID-19 despite vaccination. Advice is then provided to the four United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers. The evidence considered by the Panel was also shared with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 14 March (HL5699), and as set out in the attachment to the Written Answer NICE nMABs appraisal committee paper, what assessment they have made of the finding that the prioritised list of people with conditions for which it may be clinically advantageous to receive neutralising monoclonal antibodies prophylaxis numbers 1.8 million.

Lord Markham: The Independent Advisory Group (IAG) chaired by Prof. Iain McInnes was commissioned by the Department to consider which cohorts should be eligible for treatment for COVID-19. The report was published on 30 May 2022 and has defined the cohort of patient eligible for neutralising monoclonal antibodies and antivirals treatments for COVID-19. In May, our estimate was that this cohort totals around 1.8 million patients in England.  The IAG was also commissioned to consider the cohorts that would potentially be eligible for COVID-19 prophylaxis (PrEP). This report formed part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Single Technology Appraisal considerations into Evusheld as prophylaxis. Whilst estimates have been made as to the total size of this cohort, it is unclear who would be prioritised within these groups should a prophylactic treatment become available. An update to this PrEP IAG report will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

Evusheld

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 7 February (HL4942) which confirmed that theexpert working group established specifically to review Evusheld pre-exposure prophylaxis only met twice, the last meeting being on 19 May 2022, why the parliamentary Written Answers provided from that dateuntil 4 July 2022 refer to asking clinicians to advise on the most appropriate option; and what other advice was being received during this period.

Lord Markham: The National Expert Working Group is one of the sources of clinical opinion to develop clinical policies. During this period the RAPID C-19 cross-agency group was also set up to review COVID-19 therapies in response to the pandemic. They would consider evidence and analysis from a number of sources, including the Prophylaxis Oversight Group and the UK Health Security Agency. In addition, the Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel considered evidence for COVID-19 risk to help prioritise cohorts for prophylaxis. This informed thinking within the Department and was subsequently shared with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. These groups continued to consider emerging evidence, including published evidence from independent researchers and evidence from the company, after the last meeting of the Expert Working Group.

NHS 111

Baroness Jolly: To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of people using the NHS 111 online service have been recommended self-care in (1) all of England, (2) each NHS England region, and (3) former Clinical Commissioning Groups, in each year since that service was launched in December 2017.

Baroness Jolly: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people visited the NHS 111 website in each year since 2017; and of those, what proportion were to pages relating to minor ailments in each year.

Lord Markham: The information is not available in the format requested as NHS 111 online was not fully functional and available nationally until early 2019. A copy of information is attached that shows the proportion of people using the NHS 111 online service from 2019 to 2022 that have been recommended self-care in England, by National Health Service region, and by sub-integrated care board level correlating to former clinical commissioning group areas.Data on the number of people visiting the NHS 111 website in each year since 2017 and the proportion that visited pages relating to minor ailments in each year is not held centrally. NHS 111 online does not provide pages for minor ailments, but triages and directs users to appropriate services or care.NHS 111 online self-care recommendations (xlsx, 37.9KB)

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Business

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toprovide energy bill relief for businesses.

Lord Callanan: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), worth £7.3billion, provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses are protected from high energy costs this winter period. Following a review of the EBRS, a new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) starts on 1 April 2023, and all eligible non-domestic customers, except for those experiencing low energy costs, will automatically receive a per unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

Renewable Energy: Housing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to ensure that green incentives and loans for renewable energy efficiency measures for domestic properties are easy to understand and apply.

Lord Callanan: Catalysing the market for accessible green finance is a priority for Government. Our Green Home Finance Innovation Fund, which completed last year, was an early step in supporting the piloting of green mortgages.That Fund is followed by the Green Home Finance Accelerator which launched in October 2022. This programme is making £20m available to lenders to develop and pilot a wider range of green loans products, with a focus on simple, straightforward customer journeys and high-quality advice. Learnings from the pilots will be shared with the lending community in due course to inform the design of future products.

Heat Pumps: Manufacturing Industries

Lord Dobbs: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made (1) of the proportion of heat pumps installed in the UK that have been manufactured in the UK, and (2) of these, the proportion that contain microchips manufactured in China.

Lord Callanan: In 2020, the Government published research that showed that around 30 per cent of the heat pumps installed domestically were manufactured in the UK. This research did not consider the proportion of those heat pumps that contain microchips manufactured in China. However, industry data shows that there are a range of manufacturers from different countries that supply electronic circuit boards and semiconductors to the UK consumer appliance market, and the supply chain is not reliant on manufacturers from any one country.

Heat Pumps

Lord Dobbs: To ask His Majesty's Government whether their target remains to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028; and what estimate they have made of how many heat pumps have been installed (1) in total so far, and (2) in the past 12 months.

Lord Callanan: Our target remains to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 and we are putting in place an ambitious package of policies to achieve this. From 2008 up to the end of February 2023, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that 184,065 heat pump installations were registered. The number of heat pump installations in the 12 months to the end of February 2023 were 32,234. However, heat pumps installed without Government funding support and those in new buildings are not typically recorded in the database, with industry sources suggesting installations in new homes could make up a significant fraction of overall heat pump deployment.

Hydrogen

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they propose to take in response to theHydrogen Champion Report: Recommendations to government and industry to accelerate the development of the UK hydrogen economy, published in March; and in particular, the recommendation that blending of hydrogen with gas of up to 20 per cent for the gas supply should proceed.

Lord Callanan: The Government welcomes the Hydrogen Champion Report, and I met the Hydrogen Champion, Ms Toogood, on 21 March to discuss next steps. The Government will continue to work with Ms Toogood and industry to develop the UK Hydrogen economy and realise the potential of hydrogen. The Government is planning to take a strategic policy decision in 2023 on whether to seek to enable blending of hydrogen in the existing gas distribution network. Further details will be provided this year, including through the government response to our consultation on hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, which we aim to publish in Q2 2023.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Tree Planting: North of England

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many new trees have been planted as part of the Northern Forest project in each of the last three years.

Lord Benyon: The Northern Forest is an ambitious landscape scale partnership that aims to establish at least 50 million new trees by 2043 in and around the cities of Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull. The government supports the Northern Forest as a contributor to levelling up by supporting new and existing jobs, rural economies, fighting climate change, facilitating nature recovery, and encouraging greater private investment in trees and woodlands. So far, the core partnership of the Woodland Trust, Mersey Forest, Manchester City of Trees, White Rose Forest and Humber Forest have established over 5 million new trees since 2018. The Forestry Commission publishes information on new tree planting annually, including in the Northern Forest. These figures can be obtained from its Headline Key Performance Indicators reports, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forestry-commission-corporate-plan-performance-indicators. The most recent published provisional statistics are shown below (and is attached):  YearHectares PlantedEquivalent in number of trees21/22150168,00020/2169159,000Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators (pdf, 3500.7KB)

Hunting Trophy Import (Prohibition) Bill: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government why Northern Ireland has been excluded from the proposed provisions of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, given that a number of EU countries such as France and the Netherlands have similar legislation; and what plans they have to amend the Bill to cover Northern Ireland.

Lord Benyon: The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill currently going through Parliament will ban the import of hunting trophies to Great Britain from thousands of species.Strict controls on hunting trophy imports are already in place in Northern Ireland. No permits for importing hunting trophies to Northern Ireland have been issued in the past 5 years. We are exploring whether current controls on imports of hunting trophies to Northern Ireland can be tightened.

Cabinet Office

Rape

Lord Dobbs: To ask His Majesty's Government how many rape allegations were made to the police in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and how many of those resulted in (1) prosecution, and (2) conviction.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon gentlemen Parliamentary Question of 22.03 is attached. The Rt Hon. the Lord DobbsHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW30 March 2023Dear Lord Dobbs,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the number of rape allegations made to the police in England and Wales for the last five years and how many of those resulted in (a) prosecution, and (b) conviction (HL6736). The two main sources of crime statistics are police recorded crime and the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The CSEW only provides estimates of the prevalence of crime and different crime types as experienced by victims, which may not always be reported to the police.The most up to date figures we have published on rape offences recorded by the police can be found in Appendix table A4 [1], published as part of the Crime in England and Wales; year ending September 2022 [2] . This table provides police recorded rape offences back to 2002. Table 1 shows a subset of table A4 providing the number of rape offences back to the year ending March 2017.Our most recent Sexual offences in England and Wales overview: year ending March 2022 [3] publication provides data on the number of rape incidents recorded by the police. These data are provided in Table 12 for the year ending March 2021 and Table 13 for the year ending March 2022 in the associated Sexual offences prevalence and victim characteristics [4] tables.Unfortunately, we do not hold data on how these offences are treated by the criminal justice system. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) are primarily responsible for court statistics so will hold information on prosecutions and convictions. They publish statistics [5] each quarter which might be of help to you. You can contact MoJ via email at ESD@justice.gov.uk. It may also be beneficial to contact the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as they collate information on prosecution by crime type. You can contact them via Enquiries@cps.gov.uk.Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond Table 1: Police recorded rape offences, year ending March 2017 to year ending September 2022 England and WalesOffenceApr 2016 to Mar 2017Apr 2017 to Mar 2018Apr 2018 to Mar 2019Apr 2019 to Mar 2020Apr 2020 to Mar 2021Apr 2021 to Mar 2022Oct 2020 to Sep 2021Oct 2021 to Sep 2022Rape42,06355,00459,92159,10455,65269,90562,86670,633Source: Police recorded crime from the Home Office [1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2022[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/sexualoffencesinenglandandwalesoverview/march2022[4] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffencesprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly UK Statistics Authority Response (pdf, 127.1KB)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Internet: Satellites

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 9 February (HL4988), what estimate they have made of the number of people relying on Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for internet access.

Viscount Camrose: Ofcom estimates that as of October 2022, 13,000 customers have opted for a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband service from Starlink. Based on analysis of Starlink’s data, at least some of these customers are based in areas which do not have access to traditional decent broadband services. Premises may also use satellite services in conjunction with other terrestrial services.Ofcom estimated that at the end of 2021, there were 25,500 fixed broadband satellite connections. This data represents data collected from a non-exhaustive list of UK satellite service providers (excluding Starlink), and most likely to be based on Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) services.

Voice Over Internet Protocol

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the resumption by BT of the rollout of Digital Voice, what steps they are taking to ensure that BT identifies the residents qualifying under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the resumption by BT of the rollout of Digital Voice, what assessment they have made ofhow residents without broadband will be ‘switched on’  by BT to access Digital Voice services; and at whose cost.

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government, furtherto the resumption by BT of the rollout of Digital Voice, what assessment they have made of how pay phones will be enabled after switch off.

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government, further tothe resumption by BT of the rollout of Digital Voice, what steps they have taken toidentify people who are digitally excluded; and whether they have undertaken an Equalities Impact Study of the Digital Voice rollout.

Viscount Camrose: BT’s PSTN migration process is called the Digital Voice Program. Following their decision to pause their residential migrations in March 2022, BT announced this month their intention to restart their Digital Voice Program in Summer 2023. Since pausing, BT has taken several steps to identify and develop solutions for their customers. BT conducted a detailed internal customer analysis to identify at-risk customers which includes the chronically sick and disabled. These cohorts will receive additional support from BT during their migration process. BT’s planned restart will be prioritising customers with existing full fibre broadband services, little or no landline usage and no identified vulnerabilities.Consumers who are landline-only customers won’t be required to take a paid broadband service from BT if they do not wish to. They will be provided with a dedicated internet connection specifically for their landline service at no extra cost. Customers without access to broadband or mobile coverage will still be able to use their landline for calls, but the technology that underpins it will be different. They will not be migrated to Digital Voice until they have the connectivity they need to make the switch.Public call boxes or “pay phones” will also undergo the upgrade process. Pay phones will continue to work in the same way as they do today, but the technology which underpins them will change.BT has created a Digital Phone Advisory Group which comprises charities and representative groups to advise on how best to support and engage with at-risk customer groups including the digitally excluded. When BT will migrate these customers, they will work closely with local authorities and other local stakeholders to help them make the move as effectively as possible.

Department for Transport

Merchant Shipping: Medals

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 28 March (HL6776),why the Merchant Navy Meritorious Service medal, which is for meritorious service, has been placed in the category of "efficiency and long service".

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service was placed in the category of Efficiency and Long Service Decorations and Medals by the Royal Household, alongside other awards of a similar nature, such as the Armed Forces Meritorious Service Medals.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Parish and Town Councils: Standards

The Earl of Lytton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to celebrate parish and town councils that have received an award through the Local Council Award Scheme.

The Earl of Lytton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Local Government Association's report Local service delivery and place-shaping: A framework to support parish and town councils, published on 11 August 2021; and what plans they have to raise awareness of the report in central and local government.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government recognise that parish and town councils play an important role in improving the quality of life and well-being of their communities. Parish and town councils often have a close understanding of what their communities want and that is why we fully encourage schemes that support their achievements and frameworks that help improve local service delivery.